Hikaru Utada Announces The Release Of 8th Studio Album Bad Mode Available Wednesday, January 19 From Milan Records
HIKARU UTADA
ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF 8TH STUDIO ALBUM
BAD MODE
AVAILABLE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19 FROM MILAN RECORDS
ALBUM LEAD SINGLE “KIMINI MUCHUU” OUT NOW
MUSIC VIDEO DEBUTS TODAY – WATCH HERE
IKARU UTADA LIVE SESSIONS FROM AIR STUDIOS
ONLINE CONCERT EVENT PREMIERES JANUARY 19
Toronto, ON (Thursday, December 9) – Global J-pop superstar HIKARU UTADA today announces the upcoming release of new album BAD MODE, available Wednesday, January 19, 2022. BAD MODE marks Hikaru Utada’s eighth studio album and follows a string of recent chart-topping hits, including “One Last Kiss” the theme song to EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME, and “PINK BLOOD” the theme to TV anime To Your Eternity. The album was introduced last month with lead single “Kimini Muchuu,” which was recorded with frequent collaborator and producer A.G. Cook – listen here. The official music video for “Kimini Muchuu” premieres today in commemoration of the 23rd anniversary of Hikaru Utada’s 1998 debut – watch here.
The music video for “Kimini Muchuu” gives viewers a preview of HIKARU UTADA LIVE SESSIONS FROM AIR STUDIOS, an upcoming concert special from Hikaru Utada to be released in celebration of the release of BAD MODE. Today’s video features footage from the show, which will premiere on album release day and Hikaru Utada’s birthday Wednesday, January 19 at 8PM JST / 6AM EST / 3AM PST and be available to watch through Sunday, January 23, 2022. Recorded at London’s legendary Air Studios, the concert is a first for Utada, who has gathered a group of renowned musicians led by bassist Jodi Milliner, bandmaster for Utada’s 2018 tour, to perform music from the new album. The concert was recorded and mixed by sound engineer Steve Fitzmaurice, who also worked on the new album, and directed by David Barnard, whose filmography includes Radiohead’s “In Rainbows – From Basement” and Eric Clapton’s “LOCKDOWN SESSIONS.” Additional details surrounding the concert and ticketing information can be found at the official website HERE.
Along with “Kimini Muchuu,” “One Last Kiss” and “PINK BLOOD,” BAD MODE will include the global hit song “Face My Fears,” which was written and produced by Hikaru Utada alongside chart-topping producers Skrillex and Poo Bear and features as the opening song to action role-playing game KINGDOM HEARTS Ⅲ, as well as “Time,” which features as the main theme to Japanese TV drama Bishoku Tantei Akechi Goro. BAD MODE will also feature never-before-heard songs and special remixes as bonus tracks. Previously unreleased tracks include Hikaru Utada’s first English track since 2019 entitled “Find Love,” which is the theme song to SHISEIDO’s latest global beauty campaign “POWER IS YOU.” Hikaru Utada is included as an ambassador for the campaign alongside American soccer star Megan Rapinoe and Spanish actress Úrsula Corberó, each representing the power of beauty within to transform society for the better. Hikaru Utada is also a brand ambassador for Japanese mineral water SUNTORY Tennensui, appearing in a commercial for the brand that features a song entitled “Darenimo Iwanai.”
HIKARU UTADA – BAD MODE
AVAILABLE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2022
“Kimini Muchuu”: LISTEN HERE | WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO
HIKARU UTADA LIVE SESSIONS FROM AIR STUDIOS*
DATE: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
TIME: Livestream premieres 8:00 PM JST / 6:00 AM EST / 3:00 AM PST and is available through Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 11:59 PM JST / 9:59 AM EST / 6:59 AM PST
OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR TICKETS & INFO: https://www.utadahikaru.jp/livesessions2022/en/
*Available in: China (in cooperation with bilibili), United States, United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil
Presented by U3MUSIC / Sony Music Labels EPIC Records Japan
Sponsored by Shiseido Company, Limited (SHISEIDO GINZA TOKYO) / KINGDOM HEARTS / Suntory / Sony Group Corporation
Filming Equipment Provided by Sony Group Corporation
ABOUT HIKARU UTADA
Born in the United States to Japanese parents, Hikaru Utada is a singer/songwriter and producer.
Utada’s debut album First Love was released in 1999 and was an instant success, becoming the country‘s best-selling album of all time, and still holding the honor to this day. The success of the album led to Utada being featured on the cover of the 2001 “Music Goes Global” issue of TIME alongside U2’s Bono and Bjork, and by the end of the 2000s, Utada was deemed “the most influential artist of the decade” in the Japanese music landscape by The Japan Times. Utada’s commercial success has made the musician one of Japan’s top-selling recording artists of all time with over 37 million albums sold.
Utada announced a hiatus from their music career in 2010 to focus on personal growth before returning in April 2016. The international audience will recognize Utada’s contribution to the Square Enix/Disney video game series Kingdom Hearts, where the musician wrote and produced theme songs for each game in the series. “Face My Fears,” the most recent 2019 collaboration with Skrillex and the opening theme for KINGDOM HEARTS III, charted in the Billboard Top 100. Utada’s 2021 single and EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME theme song, “One Last Kiss,” charted in 33 countries and regions worldwide as well as the Spotify Global Viral Chart.
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